


The Way You Love Me

by MyHeartCanDream



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-15
Updated: 2013-01-15
Packaged: 2017-11-25 15:00:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/640080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyHeartCanDream/pseuds/MyHeartCanDream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Shannon, who gave me this prompt (: I love you, lady!</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Way You Love Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [riversdamsel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/riversdamsel/gifts).



_  
I couldn't face the day today. I watched the clock on her bedside table as the minutes ticked on and didn't even try to get up. I could smell her bare skin in my mind, see the way her eyes lit up when the handcuffs came out...I spent a good hour imagining she was singing in the shower as I lay in bed still, and that we had a quiet cup of tea in the library together. Those days were always the best ones. Just she and I doing nothing and everything all at once. Some days are harder than others, but today is always the worst. It's been seven years to the day. Seven years since the night I said goodbye to my River Song for the last time. God, I miss her._

The Doctor turned over in his bed and tossed his diary onto the floor carelessly before leaning back and hugging his pillow tight against his face.

 

_Should I believe in some sort of afterlife? If I do will she be there waiting for me? No. I was an idiot and stuck her into a computer where I can never get her back._

He yelled in frustration and threw the pillow across the room, sending objects flying. Tears slid down his cheeks as he pulled the covers over his head. In his mind, he could hear the door open and close and the sound of her footsteps crossing to the closet, just as they always had after a long day of work. She would slip off her heels and change clothes, then climb into bed and gently slide her pinky into his before drifting off into a peaceful slumber. He could almost feel the bed move as she climbed in and laced her pinky in his.

 

_If only...._

_~~~~~~~~_

Sunlight poured through the window and aroused the Doctor from his sleep. He slid a hand through his hair and let out a long sigh. It was a new day and he probably had work to do.

 

He opened his eyes and nearly yelled.

 

Someone was in the bed with him.

 

Frantically he raced through his memory for any recollection of someone even being on the TARDIS the night before. He quickly realized that was impossible. It was just him. It was  _always_  just him.

 

He slowly pulled the blankets off of himself and tried to sit up, but something was wrong with his other hand. It was stuck to something. He glanced down and his eyes widened.

 

His pinky was wrapped around someone else's pinky. Panic and horror filled his heart. He was doing  _their_  thing with someone else. He pulled his pinky away quickly.

 

Blankets flew everywhere and a mess of curls shot out of bed. Before he even knew what was happening, he had a charged blaster aimed squarely at his hearts.

 

"God, sweetie! You scared me half to death! What's the fuss about?"

 

His jaw dropped and his mind went completely blank.

 

"You know I sleep with a blaster. You're supposed to wake me first so I don't think someone's--"

 

He managed to make a small squeak come out of his vocal chords.

 

"Doctor?"

 

He rubbed his eyes and blinked several times but the image before him didn't change.

 

"Sweetie, what's wrong?"

 

She knelt on the bed and crawled on her knees toward him with a worried expression. The Doctor watched her hand reach out to touch his face.

 

He gasped as he felt it on his cheek and his hand shot up and grabbed it.

 

"River. You're here." he whispered, praying it wasn't just a dream.

 

She tilted her head to the side and knit her eyebrows together. "Of course I'm here, my love. Where else would I be?"

 

His eyes filled with tears and he cupped her face in both hands.

 

"Seriously, are you alright?"

 

He didn't answer. She pulled his hands from her cheeks and bit her lip as she watched his eyes fill with tears. River hated it when he cried. Her arms found their place around his neck and she kissed him softly.

 

"Whatever has happened, I--"

 

River was cut off by his lips. She didn't object as his tongue tasted hers and she nipped at it in affectionate playfulness. That only encouraged him and he began to kiss her more frantically. She gasped for air and smiled as he pulled her back in for more. His hands pulled her closer. It was too good to be true! His River Song, his  _wife,_ was in his arms again. He was holding her. He was kissing her. He didn't know how. All he knew was that he would never let go.

 

River broke from his lips and leaned her head on his shoulder.

 

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" she asked, already knowing he wouldn't.

 

The Doctor only hugged her tighter. She winced and squirmed a little. "Less, sweetie. You're hurting me."

 

He loosened his embrace ever so slightly.

 

"River, I love you." he said, "You know that, right? I will  _always_  love you."

 

She lifted her head to look at him and raised an eyebrow.

 

"Of course I know. I love you, too. I always have and I always will."

 

Eventually she convinced him to let go of her by agreeing to let him hold her hand instead. He was afraid if he wasn't touching her, she would somehow be whisked away from him again.

 

They climbed back into bed and lay together in silence until River suggested they do diaries.

 

"I know I'm ahead of you." he said with a sober tone, "Where are you?"

 

"I've just done the Byzantium. The second time."

 

The Doctor nodded and thought back through their adventures.

 

"Do you think we'll ever be done running?" she asked, curling up into his chest, "Not that I don't love our life, but it does make me wonder what it would be like to have life slow down enough to vacation without encountering trouble, or raise a family, or just be together in the right order and not be restricted by our time lines."

 

He clung to her every word, drinking in the sound of her voice. He was going to make the most of this while it lasted, because it wouldn't last forever. He was getting a second chance.

 

"I don't know. It would be nice, I admit," he stated, "Would you really like to raise a family?"

 

She sighed and he watched her lick her lip before she spoke.

 

"Yes. Maybe it's a silly thought, but I don't know...I want us to be together first. If we're ever going to have children, I'd like to have already fixed this time line problem."

 

He nodded in agreement.

 

"It's hard enough for us to see versions of the other who doesn't know us. I don't want to put any children in that situation."

 

The Doctor's heart ached as he pictured the hurt on River's face when he didn't know who she was, then intensified as he pictured the same look on a child who realized his mum or dad didn't know who he or she was.

 

Not that it really mattered for him now. He knew how it all ended. They would never figure out their time lines and he would kiss her goodbye for the last time after an unforgettable night at the Singing Towers.

 

"What are you thinking?" River asked, wiping away one of his tears with her thumb.

 

"Nothing," he lied, then changed his tone, "I'm just glad you're here right now."

 

"Me too, my love."

 

\--------

 

"What are we going to do today?" River asked as she stepped out of the shower.

 

The Doctor grinned as his eyes took in her bare skin. She rolled her eyes and wrapped a towel around herself.

 

"You're an idiot."

 

He laughed. "Call me that again."

 

She raised an eyebrow and repeated herself.

 

"What would you want to do if you only had one day left with me?" he asked casually as he straitened his bow tie in the mirror.

 

"It doesn't matter what we'd do. I would love it because I was with you." she said. River took down her hair and slipped into a pair of jeans.

 

He considered her words. He felt the exact same way, which was why he'd wanted her to pick something.

 

"Well how will we decide what we're going to do then?"

 

River laughed and picked up her blaster. "Well, let's see...I've got a gun and you've got a time machine."

 

His eyes widened and he shook his head frantically as she finished her sentence.

 

"What the hell. Let's kill Hitler."

 

\-------------------

 

"What are we going to do exactly?" the Doctor asked. River was flying the TARDIS on her own while he shaved in the sofa.

 

"Go back to Berlin and--"

 

"No. That's out of the question. In case you'd forgotten, out past selves will be there  _and_  the tesalector. You're a criminal."

 

"And you're the Doctor. If there's one thing I've learned, it's how to trust you."

 

He didn't answer.

 

River flipped one final lever and then sat herself on the Doctor's lap, blocking his view of the mirror. He raised both eyebrows, half his face still covered in creme.

 

"In all your travels, have you ever discovered exactly how Hitler dies?"

 

He put his arms around her waist and sighed.

 

"Everyone knows he committed suicide, River."

 

She grinned mischievously. "Actually, there seems to be a lot of evidence suggesting foul play."

 

That got his attention.

 

"Since when?"

 

"Since always. His officers said he shot himself while eating cyanide, but they burned his body with his wife's before that was ever proven.  _And_  before they were finally cremated, scientists did DNA tests on the skull that was supposedly Hitler's and found out it actually belonged to a young woman."

 

The Doctor gasped. "Hitler was a woman?!"

 

River rolled her eyes and began to laugh. "No, sweetie. They weren't his bones."

 

It finally clicked in his head and he nodded enthusiastically.

 

"So what are we going to do?!"

 

She stood up and handed him his razor.

 

"You're going to finish shaving and then we're going to find a clever way to discover the truth."

 

\------------

 

"River," the Doctor whispered, "We shouldn't be here."

 

River turned back and gave him and exaggerated eye roll. "Shut up, sweetie, we've got to get into position before they get here."

 

She crept forward down the hallway and pressed her back to the wall as she neared the corner. She could hear voices coming from the room beyond.

 

River pressed her finger to her lips and the Doctor nodded, thoroughly enjoying being with her again.

 

His eyes wandered down towards her bum and he grinned. She glanced back and glared as if she already knew when he was doing.

 

River signaled him to stay put and slipped around the corner. Three gentlemen were discussing something apparently important and stopped when they spotted her coming toward them.

 

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" one of them asked, pulling his gun.

 

River laughed and tilted her head in amusement. "Why would I tell you that?" she asked, picking at her nails, "You forgot my birthday."

 

The men were so busy trying to figure out what she meant that they didn't notice her slip her stun gun out until the first shot fired.

 

Seconds later, the Doctor was standing next to her as she blew the smoke from the barrel of the gun, grinning at the three sleeping men on the rug.

 

"You are perfect." he breathed.

 

River raised an eyebrow and holstered the weapon. "Thank you, sweetie."

 

They quickly entered the room and the Doctor pointed to a vented cupboard. River went in first and he followed close behind.

 

Not a moment after they shut the door, they heard voices out in the corridor and  a man and woman entered the room, locking the door behind them.

 

River was the perfect height to see out the vent, but the Doctor had to crouch a little.

 

She smiled as she caught sight of the man's face. It was him. They'd made in just in time.

 

"--which is why you leave me with no other choice." he was saying.

 

The woman, his wife, Eva Braun, she guessed, looked as if she'd seen a ghost. Something was scaring her.

 

"But I'm sorry, Adolf, I--"

 

A loud ringing  _smack!_  echoed through the room and River gasped. Eva stumbled backwards, but stayed on her feet.

 

The Doctor noticed River's hands clench in fury as Hitler stepped forward, but he didn't have time to react as a gun fired and River burst out of their hiding spot.

 

She raced to Eva's side, ignoring the objections of the Doctor and the surprised threats of Hitler. She was dead before she hit the ground. River was too late.

 

Rage filled her heart and she stood, teeth clenched and eyes wild.

 

"River, no!"

 

Hitler recovered from the initial shock more quickly than River had expected and she suddenly found herself with a cocked gun to her forehead.

 

"If either of you move an inch, Doctor, I will shoot her." Hitler said in a low voice.

 

"How do you know who I am?" the Doctor asked, confused.

 

"You're the one who made the man with the big nose put me in the cupboard." he seethed, "I've spent years gathering intelligence about you. I don't believe I've met your woman."

 

River glanced at the Doctor, face calm, but eyes telling him something completely different.

 

"My wife. I highly suggest you let her go."

 

Hitler began to laugh. "Why would I? I know you have a time machine. I know you can help me win this war."

 

River swallowed and glanced down at her holster. The gun was missing. Panic tightened in her chest and she searched frantically for it on the floor.

 

The Doctor saw her looking and caught her eye.

 

"I wouldn't ever help you. I don't help criminals." he said firmly, flicking his eyes to his sleeve.

 

River relaxed slightly, but she stayed still as Hitler stepped behind her and took a firm hold of her hair.

 

"If you don't, I will shoot her. One finger at a time, then her feet and legs, then her arms--You see where I'm going with this." Hitler said confidently, "You have no choice."

 

The Doctor pulled River's gun out if his sleeve and pointed it at them.

 

"I'm calling your bluff. There's something you don't know about me, Adolf," River's eyes widened as the blaster charged. "I'm stupid as hell."

 

A shot fired and River felt herself falling to the ground. She wasn't sure if she'd been shot.

 

The Doctor ran to her and carefully untangled her from Hitler's body.

 

"You're an idiot." she muttered, giving him a rough shove and looking down to make sure she really was alright, "You shouldn't have done that. You're not a killer, sweetie. You're a terrible shot. You could have hit me!"

 

He grinned and shook his head. "I knew I wouldn't."

 

Something in his tone suggested to her he was referring to something in her future.

 

"Time can be rewritten."

 

He struggled to keep his face from giving away the deep wound those four words had re-opened. "No. Not this time."

 

River gave him half a smile and kissed him. "We need to go." she whispered, changing the subject.

 

She inspected the two bodies and then sighed. "It wasn't quite as glamorous as I thought it might have been. But two murders are far more exciting than suicide."

 

The Doctor laughed and helped her arrange them on the sofa as if they truly had taken their own lives. "I saved your life, don't forget."

 

River slipped her hand in his and pulled him towards the door. "Yeah." she said, smiling up at him, "And you always will."

 

END.


End file.
